Event | Doing Business Online: What You Need to Know

Artists of all disciplines: learn legal and practical considerations for doing business online on Wednesday, May 16.

The New York City Bar Association’s Art Law Committee (Artists’ Rights Sub-Committee) and New York Foundation for the Arts ( NYFA) will present a panel on legal and practical considerations for artists of all disciplines who are doing business online. Given the rapidly-growing number of services and tools available for artists to promote, share, and sell their work through the Internet, the experienced panelists will discuss related legal issues and provide practical guidance to help you enjoy the benefits of these technologies while protecting your creative and financial assets online. The event will include time for a Q & A with event attendees.

Title: Doing Business Online: What You Need to Know
Date: Wednesday, May 16, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Location: New York Foundation for the Arts, 20 Jay Street, Suite 740, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Cost: Free. This event is fully booked. Register for the waiting list via Eventbrite.

Panelists:

Lena J. Wong, Vice President and Compliance Counsel at Sotheby’s, will highlight issues and best practices to consider when running an online business.  

Irina Tarsis, Esq., Founder and Director of the Center for Art Law, will discuss best practices in protecting your copyright and using other works online.

Rebecca Blake, Advocacy Liaison at the Graphic Artists Guild, will discuss proposed legislation, the Copyright Alternative Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act), that would provide creatives with an accessible means of enforcing copyright infringements.              

Josh Greenberg, Attorney at Masur Griffitts + LLP, will highlight business considerations and key legal points every creative entrepreneur should know about.

Moderators:

Adam Yokell, CEO of Foundwork and former Counsel at Artsy, and Carol J. Steinberg, Art/Entertainment Attorney in NYC and East End and Faculty Member School of Visual Arts, will co-moderate.  

Presenters’ Bios:

Lena J. Wong is Compliance Counsel for Sotheby’s, where she works on a wide range of issues, including data protection and information security, e-commerce, anti-money laundering, art and cultural heritage regulation, auction practices, and private sales. Prior to joining Sotheby’s in 2017, Wong was an Art Law and Litigation Associate at a premier boutique litigation firm in New York. Wong received her B.A. in Art History from UCLA and her J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law.

Irina Tarsis, Esq., is an art historian and a practicing attorney in Brooklyn, New York. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, she earned her bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia, her master’s degree in art history from Harvard University, and law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Founding Director of the Center for Art Law, she conducts provenance research and consults on various art law matters such as title disputes, copyright infringement and fair use, artists’ rights, restitution, authenticity, and due diligence. Tarsis lectures on the subject of resale royalty rights, provenance research, fair use issues affecting visual arts, and many others. Tarsis is an active member of the Entertainment, Art and Sports Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and the Art Law Committee of New York City Bar. Between 2012 and 2015, she served as a chair of the Cultural Heritage and the Arts Interest Group of the American Society of International Law. Former Art Law Post Graduate Fellow at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Tarsis has taught on the faculty of the European Shoah Legacy Institute/Provenance Research Training Workshops in Vilnius, Lithuania (2013); Athens, Greece (2014); and Rome, Italy (2014); and guest lectured at The New School (2014-2015).

Rebecca Blake is Design Director at Optimum Design & Consulting, a small design firm in midtown Manhattan, where she develops both print and Web design projects. She serves as Advocacy Liaison for the Graphic Artists Guild, a trade association representing the interests of professional communication designers and illustrators. As Advocacy Liaison, she monitors upcoming legislation on copyrights and issues relevant to graphic artists, and works with a coalition of associations on advocacy for visual artists. She also serves on the Executive Committee for ico-D, the International Council of Design, and previously headed the organization’s National Design Policy Workgroup.

Josh Greenberg is a transactional attorney practicing primarily in the areas of venture, corporate, trademark, and digital media and entertainment law. Prior to joining MG+, Greenberg was an intern with Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP, an entertainment, intellectual property, and corporate boutique law firm; Tough Mudder, an event company that puts on extreme, military-style obstacle course mud runs; and the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. In law school, Greenberg was an Associate Managing Editor of the Journal of Law and Policy and a clinical intern with the Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy (BLIP) Clinic, which offers pro bono legal services to pre-revenue startups, largely in the technology, Internet, consumer products and services, and new media spaces. In addition, he is a contributor and the legal editor of the MG+ Lawtalk blog, which is available at https://masur.com/lawtalk/.

Moderators’ Bios

Carol J. Steinberg has practiced art, copyright, and entertainment law in New York City and on the East End of Long Island for over twenty years. She is a Member of the Faculty of the School of Visual Arts, where she teaches courses on artists’ rights. Steinberg is a co-chair of the Fine Arts Committee of the State Bar’s Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Section and a member of the City Bar’s Art Law Committee, where she chairs the sub-committee on Artists’ Rights. She is also a member of the East Hampton Arts Council, the Fine Arts Federation, and ALAI (international artists’ rights organization founded by Victor Hugo). More about Steinberg at www.carolsteinbergesq.com.

Adam Yokell is the Founder and CEO of Foundwork, a new online platform connecting artists and collaborators. Before Foundwork, Yokell was running Hometown, a Brooklyn-based gallery where he collaborated with emerging artists from the U.S. and abroad. Yokell is also former Counsel to the online platform Artsy, where he managed legal affairs and provided operational and strategic guidance across the company from 2011 through 2015. Yokell is an active member of industry groups and organizations including the SculptureCenter Ambassadors, Independent Curators International (ICI) Independents, New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), and the Art Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, where he is part of the subcommittee on Artists’ Rights.

Event Accessibility

New York Foundation for the Arts is committed to making events held at the NYFA office at 20 Jay Street in Brooklyn accessible. If you are mobility-impaired and need help getting to NYFA’s office for events held on premises, we are pleased to offer complimentary car service from the wheelchair accessible Jay Street-MetroTech subway station courtesy of transportation sponsor Legends Car Service. Please email [email protected] or call 212.366.6900 ext. 150 between 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM at least three business days in advance of the event to coordinate. The elevator access point for pickup is at 370 Jay Street, on the NE corner of Jay and Willoughby Streets.

This program is presented by NYFA Learning, which includes professional development for artists and arts administrators. Sign up for NYFA’s free bi-weekly newsletter to receive updates on future programs, and check out NYFA’s Business of Art Directory to read more articles on this topic and others.

Image: Legal Panel: Your Art Will Outlive You – How to Protect it Now!, January 2017, Photo: Amy Aronoff for NYFA